DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 29 NOV 2017

i. First edition of the International Symposium to Promote
Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency begun in Jaipur, Rajasthan. 5-day
symposium, INSPIRE 2017 is being organized by Energy Efficiency Services
Limited in partnership with The World Bank, and Alliance for an Energy
Efficient Economy.

ii. INSPIRE 2017 brings together various stakeholders such as
innovators, policy makers, financiers and experts to showcase best practices in
the sector. During the course of this 5-day symposium, experts from Bureau of
Energy Efficiency, The Energy Institute, The World Bank Group, International
Energy Agency, and representatives of the Clean Energy Ministerial will hold
high level deliberations on various aspects of energy efficiency sector.

iii. Representatives from several global organizations like
African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank, The World Bank and International Energy Agency will also share
their perspectives at INSPIRE 2017.

2.ADB TO EXTEND $20 BILLION LOAN TO INDIA OVER 5 YEARS

i. Multi-lateral funding agency Asian Development Bank announced
that it increase annual funding to India to up to $4 billion from existing $2.7
billion from next year to accelerate inclusive economic transformation.

ii. So cumulatively, India, the largest recipient of ADB, will get
about $20 billion over a period of 5 years. Under this strategy, ADB’s annual
sovereign funding to India will increase from $2 billion to $3 billion while
private sector funding will be doubled to $1 billion.

3.NK SINGH APPOINTED AS 15TH FINANCE COMMISSION CHAIRMAN

i. The government announced that former revenue secretary NK Singh
will be the chairman of the 15th Finance Commission that will recommend
distribution of taxes between the Centre and the states

ii. Other members of the commission are former department of
economic affair secretary Shaktikanta Das, Anoop Singh, professor at Georgetown
University, former chief economic advisor Ashok Lahiri, agricultural expert and
NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand. Chand and Lahiri are part time members. The
commission has to submit its report by October 30, 2019.

4.AEGON LIFE INSURANCE APPOINTS VINEET ARORA AS MD & CEO

i. Aegon Life Insurance today announced the appointment of Vineet
Arora as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.

ii. Vineet Arora will replace K S Gopalakrishnan. Chief People
Officer of Aegon Life Insurance, Saba Adil, will serve as the interim In-charge
and Principal Officer.

i. The first South-Asian edition of the Global Entrepreneurship
Summit, which is being organised by the NITI Aayog in partnership with the
government of the United States of America, started in Hyderabad, Telangana.

ii. U.S. President Donald Trump’s Adviser and daughter Ivanka
Trump, who is leading the US delegation for GES 2017 attending the summit at
the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. This year’s Summit will
highlight the theme "Women First, Prosperity for All".

i. President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the 3rd Indian Council for
Cultural Relations Distinguished Indologist Award on Professor Hiroshi Marui of
Japan at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

ii. Professor Marui has spent over 40 years working on Indian
philosophy and Buddhist Studies. He is President of Japanese Association of
Indian and Buddhist Studies and has made significant contribution to Indology
in Japan.

7.ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE BECOMES FIRST PRIVATE LIFE INSURER TO
IMPLEMENT E-NACH

i. ICICI Prudential Life has become first private Life Insurer in
India to implement Electronic – National Automated Clearing House service of
the National Payment Corporation of India.

ii. e-NACH mandate service is a digital registration process
through which a customer issues a mandate to the bank to debit his/her account
at pre-determined frequencies. Customer can register for this mandate at the
time of purchasing a life insurance policy, by sharing bank details and Aadhaar
number.

iii. The mandate is then authenticated through One Time Password
received on mobile number registered with Aadhaar. e-NACH service will not only
eliminate the need to sign a physical mandate form but will also ensure an
error-free registration for the mandate which will facilitate a timely payment
of renewal premium.

8.INDIA WIN 10 MEDALS IN PARA-BADMINTON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

i. Indian contingent to BWF Para-Badminton World Championships in
Ulsan, South Korea has clinched 10 medals, including two golds.

ii. India’s Parul Parmar defeated Thailand’s Wannaphatdee Kamtam
in the finals of the women’s singles Standing Lower. Other gold was also won by
Parul Parmar, who paired with Japan’s Akiko Sugino in women’s doubles final.

9.INDIA CLAIM 5 GOLD MEDAL, BECOME CHAMPIONS AT WORLD YOUTH BOXING

i. India won 5 gold medals at the AIBA World Women’s Youth Boxing
Championships, in Guwahati.

ii. Nitu (48kg), Jyoti Gulia (51kg), Sakshi choudhury (54kg),
Shashi Chopra (57kg) and Ankushita Boro (64kg) won gold medals for India in the
finals. Jyoti Gulia also qualified for next year’s Youth Olympic Games in
Argentina. Ankushita was named the boxer of the tournament.

i. The Indian men’s and women’s kabaddi teams were both crowned
the champions of Asia after beating Pakistan and South Korea in Gorgan, Iran.

ii. Star raider Ajay Thakur led from the front in the men’s final,
as India beat their arch-rivals Pakistan 36-22. The Indian women’s team beat
South Korea 42-20 in their final.

11.SHAKTIKANTA DAS NAMED INDIA’S G20 SHERPA

i. The Ministry of Finance appointed former economic affairs
secretary Shaktikanta Das as India’s G20 Sherpa for the Development Track of
the grouping.

ii. There are two tracks in G-20 — Finance Track and Development
Track. Finance Track is managed by the secretary (economic affairs) as India’s
Deputy to G-20 and the Development Track is coordinated by the Sherpa.

12.INDIA, GREECE SIGN MOU FOR AIR SERVICES AGREEMENT

i. India and Greece have signed Air Services Agreement and MoU on
Cooperation in field of New and Renewable Energy.

ii. The agreements were signed after bilateral talks between
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her visiting counterpart Minister
for Foreign Affairs of Greece Nikos Kotzias in New Delhi. The ASA between India
and Greece will allow airlines from Greece to operate unlimited flights to six
Indian metropolitan airports and Indian carriers can fly to Greece without any
such restriction.

OBJECTIVE
QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHICH STATE INAUGURATED THE FIRST EDITION OF THE
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM TO PROMOTE INNOVATION &RESEARCH IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY?

a) Uttarkhand

b) Madhya Pradesh

c) Rajasthan

d) Odisha

Q2. WHICH INSURANCE COMPANY HAS BECOME THE FIRST PRIVATE LIFE
INSURER IN INDIA TO IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC– NATIONAL AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE SERVICE OF THE NATIONAL
PAYMENT CORPORATION OF INDIA?

a) Aviva India

b) HDFC Life

c) SBI Life

d) ICICI Prudential Life

Q3. TO WHOM DID THE PRESIDENT RAM NATH KOVIND CONFERRED THE 3RD
INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATIONSDISTINGUISHED INDOLOGIST AWARD?

a) Hiroshi Marui

b) Hung Cheng

c) Gilbert strang

d) Richard Stanley

Q4. WHO WAS APPOINTED AS INDIA’S G20 SHERPA TILL DECEMBER 31,
2018 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT TRACK?